From 4 to 6
by AllForLoveAndHappiness
Summary: A modern day, no ZA about Glenn and Maggie


The workday had been hectic so far. The phone was ringing constantly with angry customers, doctors calling in medications and insurance companies insisting that they needed to speak with the pharmacist, right this instance! Maggie was ready to rip the phone off the wall. Her pharmacy was short staffed and her poor pharmacy technicians were being run ragged, while she herself was checking medication after medication, sometimes not moving from her spot for an entire shift. She hasn't even gotten the chance to pee yet, and she was 8 hours in to a 13-hour shift. She did not go through 6 years of pharmacy school for this. To top it all off, she had woken up this morning with some pretty bad nausea, and was stuck with an icky feeling that hadn't left her all day.

"Maggie, person in drive through needs to talk with you." One of her techs, Aaron, told her.

She gulped down her groan, knowing she was probably about to get yelled at for something that wasn't her fault, "I'll be right there."

She was right. She stalks back to her computer after having the customer in drive through chew her out because their doctor forgot to send over their prescription.

"I'm so glad it's community days today." She says absently, slamming down a prescription bottle and beginning to count out some medication, "At least it will get everyone out of here for a few hours."

Aaron nods from the computer beside her, "Yeah, parade starts in an hour. Hopefully it'll die down soon."

She glances at her phone and notices she has a text from her husband.

 **Glenn 4:12 PM- Boys and Judith were out playing and got some tick bites. We took them to MedExpress and got prescriptions for amoxicillin. I had them send them to you. When's a good time to come get it?**

 _4:27 PM- Swing by in about 20, hoping it'll die down soon with the parade starting. The boys can watch the parade from the front curb of the store._

 **Glenn 4:28 PM- Be there soon, love you!**

She smiles, and pulls up her sons' prescriptions on the computer, "Hey Aaron, can you fill the medications for Grimes and Rhee?"

"What'd they get into this time?" He laughs. She smiles. Her boys and Judith are frequent flyers during the summer at their pharmacy, often getting medications for poison ivy, bee stings and tick bites.

"More tick bites."

Aaron rolls his eyes playfully and goes to grab the amoxicillin for her boys and Judith. He grabs a piece of candy from the candy bowl that she keeps for her technicians (after all, happy technicians mean happy workplace) on his way back and tosses her a piece. She unwraps it, but right as she goes to pop it in her mouth, she feels a wave of nausea hit her. She sets the chocolate down, the smell now overwhelming her.

"You alright?" Aaron asks her.

"Yeah, just think I caught a bug or something." She tosses the candy in the trash and takes a sip of her water. She's already feeling better.

She checks the medications for her sons and Judith and sets them to the side. The next 25 minutes is chaos, as everyone is trying to get his or her medication before the community day's parade starts. She helps Aaron man the registers and drive through, all while having consultations with patients about their medications. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Glenn ushering the boys into the small waiting room. She can hear him talking to the children.

"We have to wait. Mommy is helping all these people, so we need to be patient and wait till she's done."

Rick, Michonne and Carl join him shortly after, with Judith clinging to her big brother. They give her a small wave.

Finally, after another 10 minutes, the pharmacy is empty.

"I've got them Aaron." She says as she grabs the medications for the children. Aaron nods at her and goes back to his computer.

"Mommy!"

"There's my buggies!" Her boys run to her. She leans down over the half door that leads to the pharmacy and grabs a boy in each arm. She sits them on the half door and wraps her arms around them.

"I miss you, babies." Her boys hug her tightly. Glenn comes over and places a kiss on her forehead.

"Mommy! Mommy, we brought you dinner!" 4-year-old Hershel says. He grabs the paper bag from his dad and shoves it in her hands.

"You brought me dinner? What is it?" She says, faking surprise. Her boys always bring her the same thing, a slice of chicken bacon ranch pizza from Glenn's pizza place.

"Pizza, momma!" 3-year-old Ben says, "Momma, we had daddy pizza."

She laughs. Ben will only eat 'daddy pizza', or pizza made by Glenn, at his restaurant.

"That sounds yummy!" She places a kiss on his head and then tosses the bag by her computer.

"There's a slice in there for you too, Aaron." Glenn shouts over the counter.

From the back of the pharmacy, they hear Aaron let out a "Hell yeah!" and they laugh.

"Dada, down." Glenn lifts Ben down and sets him on the floor.

"How's work been?"

She rolls her eyes, "Extra crazy today. It must be a full moon tonight or something." She pulls away from Hershel, but he clings to her, so she wraps her arms around him and lifts him onto her hip.

Rick laughs, "Yeah, station was crazy today too. Lot's of calls today."

She checks the medications out for the children. Hershel wants to help, so she shows him what buttons to push on the register, "Are ya'll watching the parade?"

"Yup, figured we'd take your advice and set them up on the curb out front." Glenn says as he pulls Ben up into his arms. The 3 year old squeals, and tries to get away.

She nods, "Okay goose, can you read that number? That's how much it costs."

She points to the number on the screen. What's that number?"

"1."

"Good job. Now what's this one?"

"0!"

"Good! Now what does a 1 and a 0 together make?"

Hershel stares at the screen for a moment, "10!"

"That's my boy! Now tell daddy, say it's 10 dollars."

Hershel repeats the price to Glenn, who grins, "Good job, buddy. You need to come work in the restaurant with me! You can man the cash register."

He pulls out his wallet with one hand, the other which is still hanging on to a wriggling 3-year-old. Rick hands her a five-dollar bill and Glenn hands her another one. She lets Hershel gather the money and push the button to open the drawer. She helps him put the cash inside.

"Alright, you gotta go back to daddy now." She lifts him over the counter and hands him to Glenn.

"Make sure ya'll give them the first dose now, and then another in 12 hours. Repeat the same dose every 12 hours until the medicine is gone, in about 3 days."

Just as she says that, Aaron walks by, munching on his slice of pizza. She catches a whiff of it and quickly brings her hand up to cover her nose. The nausea is back. Glenn and Rick are too busy trying to get the children to take their medicine to notice, but Michonne cocks her head at her and raises an eyebrow. She turns and walks down to the consultation window that is used when a patient wants privacy to discuss their medication. Maggie meets her there.

"Are you pregnant?" She questions without hesitation.

She catches Maggie off guard, "What? No! Of course not. I just think I'm getting sick or something."

Michonne stares at her, "Really? When was your last period?"

She thinks back, but instantly pales, "I don't remember."

She can feel herself starting to panic, "No, it's not possible. I'm on the pill. Its just stress. We are so short staffed here, and we just hired that new pharmacist and I've been working a lot and-"

Michonne raises her hand to cut her off, "Don't move."

She walks over to Rick and Glenn, "Why don't you guys take the kids out and get them ready for the parade. I'll be out in a few."

The guys nod and lead the kids out of the store. Michonne disappears down one of the aisles. She returns moments later and slams something down on the counter by the register. Maggie walks over.

"I'd like to buy this, please."

"Michonne!" She says, quickly grabbing the pregnancy test she had set on the counter.

Michonne takes it back and then calmly holds it out to her, "I'd like to buy this, please."

"No! This is ridiculous. I'm not doing this right now!"

Michonne leans over the counter, "Excuse me, Aaron? Can you check me out, please?"

"Stop! 'Chonne, this isn't necessary." She says quickly as Aaron walks over. When he sees what the item is, he coughs awkwardly.

"I'm not doing this right now." She repeats again and then walks back to her computer. She curses, of course the moment she needs work to be busy, there is absolutely nothing to do. She can hear Aaron checking Michonne out. She buries her head into her hands. When was her last period? She can't even remember. But she can't possibly be pregnant. The timing is terrible. They already have two children, and they are still trying to climb their way out of the debt that resulted from her student loans and Glenn's restaurant opening. They were ever so carefully treading water right now. They didn't have to live paycheck to paycheck, like they did when they first married, but they had to be very conscious about how much they spent. To top it off, they didn't even have a second car right now. They were sharing her Honda after Glenn's rust-mobile (an old clunker kept from his pizza delivery days) died 4 months ago. They can barely even afford a car right now. How could they afford another child? Plus, her and Glenn agreed that their two boys were enough for them.

She can feel the stress building when she feels a tap on her shoulder.

"I think you should take one, just to be sure." Aaron says. Michonne stands on the other side of the half door, holding out the bag, which now contains the pregnancy test. She runs her hands through her hair.

"Guys, this isn't the time or the place."

"Really?" Michonne asks, "Cause there's literally no one in the store right now and the parade just started, so no one will be coming in for at least 30 minutes. I think this is the perfect time."

She lets out a groan, snatches the bag out of Michonne's hand and storms to the bathroom. She slams the stall door shut and forces herself to pee on the stupid stick, cussing herself out for being in this situation.

A few minutes later, she walks back into the pharmacy, slamming the half door unnecessarily. The pregnancy test in her pocket feels like a bomb, ticking down to doomsday.

Aaron and Michonne stare at her.

"Don't you guys have something better to do right now?"

They both shake their heads. She starts typing on her computer, trying to look like she's busy. Aaron fiddles with some papers and Michonne blatantly stares at her.

Everyone freezes a few moments later when a little beep goes off in her pocket. In the silent pharmacy, it sounds like an alarm. Her hands freeze on the keyboard, and then she goes back to typing.

"Aren't you going to look?" Aaron asks. She shakes her head.

"Do you want me too?" She takes a deep breath, then nods. She feels him reach into her pocket and pull the test out. She doesn't look at him, but she sees him walk back to Michonne out of the corner of her eye. They both look at the test together. She can't read their faces. When she can't take the suspense anymore, she turns around to face them.

"Well?"

Aaron looks at her, "Umm, well. Just so you know, Aaron or Erin can be used for a boy or a girl, depending on the spelling."

She groans and slides down the wall, burying her face into her knees. She feels Aaron sit down besides her. She feels another person sit on her other side.

"You're not allowed back here, Michonne." She says, her words muffled.

"Sue me." She wraps her arm around her shoulder, "Everything is going to be okay, Mags."

"How? We can't afford another child. We agreed to stop after Ben." Maggie leans her head back against the wall.

Aaron sits on her left, "I know it seems bad now, but everything happens for a reason."

"He's right," Michonne adds, "You managed to get pregnant while on the pill. This child was obviously meant to be."

"I know, I just don't know what to think right now. I'm keeping it, without a doubt. I just don't know how we're going to manage."

"We're here for you. But first, you need to talk to Glenn." Michonne says.

"I know."

"Want me to go get him?"

"No, I'll talk to him tonight." Maggie sighs. The three of them sit on the floor for a few more minutes, before the drive through bell goes off. She stands off and brushes the dirt off her pants.

"Come on, we still have another 3 hours before closing time."

9 PM finally hits and a wave of relief takes over her as she shuts the gates to the pharmacy. Her and Aaron walk towards the front doors of the store.

After waving good night to the ladies who man the store front, Aaron wraps his arm around her shoulders, "It's all gonna work out Mags."

"I know, it's just a lot to take in right now."

He nods as they step outside. She can see Glenn parked across the lot. He starts the car when he sees them come out of the store.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Aaron asks.

"Nah, don't work till Tuesday. Glenn's catering some events this weekend so I'm staying home with the boys." She gives him a wave and walks over to the car. Glenn jumps out of the driver's seat and rushes around to open her door for her (something he does every chance he gets).

"Hi." He greets her with a kiss. He shuts her door after she is in the car and gets in on the driver's side. She glances into the backseat and sees both her boys asleep in their car seats. Glenn puts them to bed at 8, but due to their car situation, he is forced to load them in the car by 8:45 in order to pick her up from work at 9. They hate having to do this to them almost every night, but they're left with no choice.

As Glenn pulls out of the parking lot, he whispers to her, "I was thinking, maybe tomorrow morning we can go test drive some cars."

She bites her lip, the reality of the situation coming back to her. He responds to her silence, "Babe, we need another car. We can afford the payments, as long as we budget carefully. The restaurant is really starting to pick up. We can afford it."

 _We can't,_ she thinks.

She nods her head, "Whatever you think is best."

Glenn smiles at her and grabs her left hand in his right. He places a kiss on her fingers, and then starts to talk softly about an ad he had seen on TV for a car that he likes. She tunes him out after a few seconds. The pregnancy test is still sitting in her pocket, the weight of it like a brick, dragging her down deeper and deeper.

They pull into the driveway a short time later. Glenn unbuckles Hershel from his car seat and she grabs Ben. Her baby boy is so deep in sleep that he doesn't even shift as she lifts him from his seat. She grabs his stuffed duck from the car floor and closes the door as quietly as she can. Hershel stirs in Glenn's arms, but doesn't open his eyes. They walk up the walkway, giving a wave to Rick and Michonne, who sit on their front porch swing.

"You know, the offer still stands for us to watch them while you run down to pick her up." Rick says.

Glenn waves him off as he fiddles with the keys to their door, "You know we can't ask you to do that every night."

"Sure you could, we love your children." Michonne says. Maggie shoots her a glare. She knows what she is implying. Michonne simple gives her a wave. They bid goodnight to the Grimes and walk into their entry hall. Their yellow lab Katie greets them at the door. Maggie gives her a pat with one hand while she toes her shoes off. Ben is like dead weight in her arms. She hears Hershel ask Glenn for a glass of water while she heads upstairs to put Ben back to bed.

She walks into Ben's room and gently lays him in bed. He doesn't even budge. Her son sleeps like a rock. She lays his stuffed duck next to him, pulls the covers over him and kisses his forehead, "Night sweet boy. I love you."

She walks into the hallway and gently shuts his door. She glances down the hall. Where are they supposed to put another child? They only have 3 bedrooms. She supposes the boys could share a room. That is, once the baby is old enough to move out of their room. Glenn coming up the stairs with Hershel in his arms interrupts her from thought. Katie follows at his heels, eager to curl up in bed with her favorite little buddy. She presses a kiss to Hershel's head as they pass and whispers her love to him. Glenn touches her arm as she passes to head to their bedroom.

"I'm gonna take a shower." She tells him.

"I'll join you after I put him to bed." She nods and continues on to their bedroom. She goes into their private bathroom and starts the shower. She can't help but scoff at the fact that yet again, Glenn's clothes manage to be on the floor next to the hamper, but not in it. As she bends over to pick up his clothes, the pregnancy test falls from her pocket and clatters on the tile floor. She stares at it.

"The boys are down for the count, you're off tomorrow and I don't have to go in until 10. Let's get this party started!" She jumps as her husbands voice echoes in the bathroom. She grabs the pregnancy test and shoves it in the hamper along with his dirty clothes. Glenn comes up behind her and slides his arms around her waist. She has to hold in a gasp when his hands come to rest right where their child is. Glenn places kisses along her neck as he unbuttons her khaki work pants, "Why are you still clothed?"

His hands wander into the front of her pants, but all she can think about is that stupid white stick hidden in the hamper.

He pulls the hair tie out of her hair, releasing her ponytail, all while trailing kisses up and down her throat and jaw. His right hand ventures out of her pants and skims under her shirt and up her stomach. She jumps and pulls away quickly from him as he begins to knead her right breast. She hadn't realized how sensitive they had become. Or maybe she had, but she had just chalked it up to PMS.

"What's wrong?" He questions.

"I'm just not in the mood tonight." She feels sorry for him. The look he gives her is equivalent to that of a kicked puppy. He shoots her a small smile and kisses her forehead.

"Alright, but can I still join you in the shower?"

She smiles and quickly sheds her clothes.

After they shower, she lay in bed. Glenn is beside her, reading a book and gently running his hand up and down her arm. She glances up at him. He is deeply engrossed in his book, his glasses square against his face. Every so often, he furrows his brow as he reads or purses his lips. She chuckles and rolls over onto her other side. They had left the bathroom door open to allow the steam from the shower to clear out, so she has the perfect view of the clothes hamper from here. She knows she has to tell Glenn.

With a sigh, she rolls out of bed and walks to the hamper. She reaches her arm in and feels around for the plastic stick. When she gets back in to bed with the test hidden in her pajama pocket, Glenn gives her a look.

"What are you doing, weirdo?"

"I have to tell you something."

Glenn puts his book down and removes his glasses when he hears how serious her tone is.

"Is everything okay?"

She chews on her lip, trying to decide the best way to tell him.

"Maggie, what's going on?" He grabs her hand and squeezes it. She closes her eyes and decides to just go for it. She pulls out the test and shoves it in his hand.

She watches his eyes go wide with shock.

"When?"

"I found out this evening, during the parade."

He looks up at her, "Why didn't you come get me?"

"Because I didn't want to believe it myself."

He runs a hand over his face, "Okay. Okay. We'll, just, we'll figure it out."

He sets the test down on his nightstand and gathers her into his arms.

"You're not mad, are you?" She asks. She gathers a fistful of his shirt in her hand.

"No, of course not. I'm just shocked. I wasn't expecting this. I mean, you're on the pill."

"I know, but being a pharmacist, I know better than anyone that it's not 100% foolproof."

They hold each other in silence before Glenn speaks, "We can manage this. This isn't a bad thing. This child is a blessing."

He moves his hand down to her stomach and begins to rub small circles on it, "The restaurant is doing good and your loans are almost paid off. We're gonna be okay, Maggie. I promise."

She nods her head, "We need to see a doctor to confirm it. Maybe we can see if Dr. Carson will take a walk in?"

"Yeah. I'll text Enid and see if she can watch the boys." He reaches for his phone and she sees him send a text to their neighbor. Enid came from a rough background, and she spent more time with them and the boys than she did her own parents. Glenn hired her at his pizza place when she turned 16, so they've sort of become honorary parents to her. She babysits whenever they need her to in return for their hospitality.

After he sends her a text, to which she quickly replies that she can be there at 8, Glenn flips the light off and pulls her into his arms. She rests her head on his chest, the sound of his heart lulling her into sleep.

The next morning finds her and Glenn sitting in the waiting room of her OB/GYN. They were able to get squeezed in for an early morning appointment. She looks around the waiting room at all the pictures of the babies that Dr. Carson has delivered. She smiles when she finds the picture of him holding a 10-minute-old Hershel. She glances around for the photo of him holding Ben and takes in the similarities of her boys. She wonders if this baby will look like it's brothers and father, or like her.

A nurse calls her name, and her and Glenn quickly stand up. The nurse leads them to a room, where she checks her weight and blood pressure. She also has her give a urine sample.

"The doctor will be with you shortly."

She sits on the exam table, wearing only the hospital gown and watches Glenn pace around the small room.

"You alright?" She asks. He gives her a smile and nods.

"Just nervous."

A short time later, they hear a knock on the door.

Dr. Carson enters the room and shakes their hands, "Hey guys. How're those boys doing?"

"Good. They're little snots, but we love them." She jokes. The doctor laughs and takes a seat. Glenn stands on her right side and rubs her back.

"Well, I'll cut right to the chase. Your urine sample showed that you're pregnant, so I'd like to get an internal ultrasound to see how far along you are and to make sure everything is going okay."

She nods and lies back on the table while Dr. Carson prepares the ultrasound. She glances at Glenn. He gives her a reassuring smile. The doctor dims the lights and tilts the computer monitor towards them.

"Okay, Maggie. I'm going to insert the probe. You're going to feel pressure, I just need you to breath."

She takes a deep breath and allows the doctor to do his job. Her and Glenn both stare at the computer screen.

"And there we are." Dr. Carson says. He focuses the picture. There in the center of the screen is a little bean. Her baby. She smiles. He puts the sound on so they can hear the heartbeat, but her smile fades. This heartbeat sounds nothing like her other two pregnancies. It was fast and very irregular.

"Hm." She glances at the doctor to see him staring at the screen and she feels him move the probe around.

"Hm?" Repeats Glenn, "What's hm? Why is its heartbeat so weird?"

The doctor ignores Glenn's question and turns the sound off. He moves the probe around and stares the screen, occasionally pushing buttons and typing.

Finally, Dr. Carson smiles and turns the sound back on, "The reason the heartbeat is so irregular is because we are hearing two heartbeats."

Her mouth drops open. Dr. Carson points to the screen, "Right here is Baby A and right here is Baby B."

"Congratulations guys, you're having twins."

The next thing she knows, Glenn is on the floor.

Glenn sits in the passenger seat while she drives home, staring at the sonogram. Dr. Carson had to give him a full neurologic assessment because he was worried Glenn hit his head when he passed out. After multiple attempts to persuade him to go to the ER to get checked over, he had one of his nurses wheel him out to the car in a wheelchair.

"I can't believe you actually passed out." She says.

"Shut up." He jokes.

They're silent for a moment before he speaks up, "How're we going to do this, Mags?"

She shrugs, "Just wing it, like always. We haven't done too bad so far."

"Mags, I'm serious. We're about to go from a family of 4 to a family of 6. I'm about to have 4 kids."

She glances over at him, "Hey, you said so yourself last night. We're gonna be okay."

"I know, I'm just freaking out right now. How are you so calm?"

She shrugs again, "I don't know. I just feel at peace. Like, this is what's supposed to happen. Hearing their heartbeats made me realize that all I was seeing was the money. It made me realize that there are actual little people inside of me right now. And, I'm already so in love with them."

Glenn grabs her hand, "Me too."

"It's gonna be tough, but we can make it. We have my dad and Annette and your parents and sisters. These babies are going to grow up with their brothers in a house full of love." She smiles at him.

"I know it."

6 ½ months later, she's resting in a hospital bed in a recovery room, her baby girl resting in her arms. She had to get a cesarean section, so she is forced to lay flat for a while and is under strict observation from a nurse. She stares at the baby in her arms. Wrapped in nothing but a blanket and hat, her precious baby girl stares up at her. Already, at just 30 minutes old, she looks just like her father and brothers. She doesn't mind one bit. She glances over at Glenn when she hears a baby whimper.

"How're you doing, Dad?"

Glenn glances up from the baby in his arms, "I'm in shock. I can't believe that I went from having no daughters to having identical twin girls in a matter of minutes. They're so incredible."

"How're we gonna tell them apart?" She laughs.

"I have no idea. Time to switch?" He says, she nods and helps him carefully switch the babies. She holds her second daughter tightly to her chest.

"God, they are identical. It doesn't even look like we switched babies."

Glenn laughs, "I know. My sisters are freaking out in the group message. They think I've been lying about having twins and that I'm just sending them pictures of the same baby."

"You should probably send them one of both the girls." She laughs. He nods and lifts his phone up and quickly snaps a picture. He shows it to her.

"I look horrible. Delete that!"

"Nah, it's our first picture with both our girls."

"Glenn, I'm serious. Don't send that to them. I look awful."

"Too late. I also sent it to my parents and yours." He leans over and pecks her lips.

"I hate you."

"Love you too."

A while later, she is moved into a post partum room and is able to sit up and hold both her girls at once.

Glenn is facetiming with his sisters, all of whom are crowded together.

"I told you there were two!" He brags, "I will take your apologies for calling me a liar in the form of cash or tacos."

Maggie laughs as Glenn's sisters start to rag on him.

"Glenn, stop showing me! I look horrible!"

"You look beautiful, Maggie!" She hears one of his sisters yell.

"She looks hot." Glenn says, laughing at the groans and reactions his sisters give him.

"Alright, we'll talk to you guys later. Love you all." Glenn says goodbye to his sisters and puts his phone away.

There's a knock on the door and he opens it. Enid walks in, Ben and Hershel each gripping one of her hands.

"Sorry, but they've been dying to come see their sisters."

Her boys let go of Enid's hands and wander over to the bed. Enid goes to leave, but Glenn wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her over to the bed too.

"You're part of our family too." He whispers to her. Maggie pretends not to notice the tears in Enid's eyes.

Glenn lifts the boys into her bed, "Be really gentle now, boys. These are your baby sisters."

"That's Meredith and Josie" Glenn tells the boys.

"Josie?" Enid says, "Like Josephine, your mom?"

Maggie nods, "And Meredith is after the woman who used to babysit Glenn and his sisters."

"She was like a grandmother to me. She was a part of my family." Glenn pulls Enid close to him, "Just like you."

Enid returns his hugs, and sits on the bed beside Maggie. Glenn sits on Maggie's other side while the boys sit in front of them, right by Maggie's thighs. They all stare at the new additions to their family.

They have their nurse snap a picture of them, which gets framed and sits on their mantle. It is displayed year round, and sits front and center at all events, including birthdays and holidays. Enid even makes a copy of it and takes it to college with her. Maggie always makes a point to dust the picture, even long after her children are grown and gone and it's just her and Glenn in the house.

Glenn had been right.

Everything was okay.


End file.
